Change of ownership at schülke successfully completed – Growth strategy with focus on innovations to be continued

ATHOS is a Munich-based single family office and invests in companies with an entrepreneurial, long-term and value-oriented approach in the healthcare and life sciences sectors. Together with other co-investors, which include Bitburger Holding, they form the Consortium.

In the course of the change of ownership, Jan-Dirk Auris will succeed Stefan Kukacka as schülke CEO. Jan-Dirk Auris joins from Henkel, where he was responsible for the Adhesive Technologies division as a member of the Management Board since 2011. He worked for Henkel for over 30 years and has many years of industry knowledge. Continuity is ensured through a comprehensive transition phase.

With almost 135 years of tradition, schülke has established itself as an innovation leader and central partner to the healthcare sector in the development of holistic and system-critical solutions for infection prevention and treatment. As a leading provider of sustainable solutions, the company meets the diverse needs of its customers, which include hospitals and other healthcare facilities, with high-quality products and high delivery reliability. In addition, the company sells its products to pharmacies and care providers as well as to the global life sciences industry. schülke holds market-leading positions in Central and Eastern Europe, Australia, and Brazil.

The goal of the schülke management team, with the support of the Consortium, is to continue the successful growth strategy with a focus on innovation and to remain a reliable partner for the company's customers and the healthcare sector - true to the mission "We protect lives - worldwide". The collaboration will focus on continuing the sustainability agenda, accelerating investments in new product innovations, further strengthening customer loyalty, and entering additional geographic markets. The Consortium aims to build on what makes schülke so unique - trust, quality, innovation, and passion - and further strengthen these values.

Jan-Dirk Auris, new CEO of schülke, said: "I am very much looking forward to my new tasks and especially to continuing to implement the common goal of sustainable corporate development and the focus on innovation as well as the mission 'We protect lives - worldwide'. The focus of our work is on the satisfaction of our customers and end customers as well as our employees. With ATHOS and the other family offices, we have strong partners at our side who have many years of industry experience and will support us in implementing our strategy and continuing on our growth path."

Wolfgang Essler, General Manager at ATHOS, said, " ATHOS, with its strong expertise and network in Healthcare and Life Sciences, is the ideal partner for schülke to support the next growth phase of the company with the same cultural values. With Jan-Dirk Auris we have gained a strong leader and a very experienced manager as CEO. We are looking forward to working together and to continuing to invest in the schülke company and to offering employees a secure and also long-term perspective."